Two-year-old girl dies crossing road in Ruwi

By Staff Reporter — MUSCAT: Dec. 20: A two-year-old Pakistani girl was killed on Monday evening while crossing the road near Ruwi roundabout with her mother and siblings. The mother, who is reported to be pregnant, survived the accident along with other injuries, but sustained serious injuries including a leg fracture. The girl’s name is Soiba Aurangzeb. According to Azra Aleem, former director of Pakistan Social Club Oman, Soiba and her mother were returning from the nearby hospital after meeting her aunt when they were suddenly hit by a trailer while crossing the road. Her mother is currently admitted to Khoula Hospital’s plastic surgery ward for women.

The family lives in Ruwi, but runs a tailoring shop in Wadi Kabir. It may recalled a student of Pakistan School Muscat was killed in an accident in October near Hamriya roundabout when he was crossing the road on his way home from OC Centre in Ruwi, after tuitions. “Some measures need to be taken to avoid such accidents due to pedestrian crossing on those roads. There are signals to regulate the flow of traffic and slowdown the vehicular movement,” said Aslam, who works as a restaurant delivery boy in Ruwi.

“Pedestrians have no option but to cross roads and sometime accidents happen even when someone is ultra conscious. Overpass may be not feasible but the authorities should look for options such as underpass or special signals for pedestrians to cross the other side,” said a hospital nurse. According to citizens and residents who spoke to the Observer, special attention should be given to building new pedestrian bridges and redesigning of signals with visible zebra crossings. “We should consider imposing fines on people trying to cross without any safety concerns like in some neighbouring countries,” said Sima S, an expatriate who frequently visits Ruwi for shopping.